China's central bank has ordered various large Chinese banks to raise their reserve ratios to curb excessive lending, while also asking some not to issue new loans, according to reports shared on Tuesday, revealing that the government is undertaking stringent measures to stabilize the pace of the nation's loan growth.

Although "it's quite likely that some aggressive banks were asked by the CBRC not to add more new loans, we don't think that those banks are stopped from lending", said Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists in a research note last week.

However, it is unknown that how severe the new-lending suspension would be. Chinese banks traditionally rush out loans at the start of the year, and some economists cite that this year the government is likely to simply try to placate the flow.

Analysts have extended their warnings that such moves, if true, aren't tantamount to a lending freeze or a policy sea change.

China's weighted average seven-day repo rate, the key factor of short-term liquidity, reported a climb of 20 basis points early Tuesday on account of funding squeeze triggered by the latest reserve ratio hike, a separate Reuters report claimed.

It is claimed that Chinese banks have extended new loans of about 9.59 trillion yuan in 2009, about 95% more than the 4.9 trillion yuan lent in 2008, and equivalent to nearly a third of the nation's economic output.